Improvement in centrifugal machines



IINITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

SAMUEL snnrwoltrn, on NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR To nnusnnr AND oouvnnnnunPAULDING, or GOLD srnnve, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN CENTRIFUGAL MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 150,688., dated May 12,1874: application filed October 11, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL S. HEPWORTH, of New York city, in the countyof New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Centrifugal Machines; and I do hereby declare that thewith the axis of revolution. There have been many devices for theprevention of this vibration, which in some cases is so violent as toinjure the supports of the machine. In machines which have been drivenfrom below the basket, elastic bushings have been used near the top ofthe spindle, and also springs connecting with the frame of the machine;but these devices have been heretofore so arranged as to obstruct thespace below the basket, or have received their support from the bottomof the tub in such a manner as to prevent the discharge of sugar orother material through valves in the bottom of the basket. Thus themeans taken for preventing vibration in such machines has precludedtheir being arranged to discharge at the bottom, which is much moreadvantageousthan removing the material from the top of the basket.

The object of my invention is to provide a machine driven from below,and supported in elastic bearings, which shall likewise discharge thecontents of the basket downward through the bottom, in whatever positionit may be stopped. My invention consists in the construction andarrangement of the several parts necessary to produce this result. 7

In the accompanying drawing, on one sheet, Figure 1 is a top view of myimproved machine with the basket and spindle removed to show the partsunderneath. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the whole machine.

and is supported by the bolts s.

A is the tub or curb. It is supported by the standard B. This standardrests upon the floor of the room in which the machine is placed. It maybe cast in one piece with the tub A, or be made separate and be boltedto it, as shown in the drawing. 0 is the basket, revolving within thetub A upon the spindle D. E is a conical sleeve firmly held in place inthe center of the machine by means of the hollow arm F,which connects itwith the standard B. A top view of this arm is shownin Fig. 1, and asection by the dotted. lines in Fig. 2. Its top is formed of two slopingplanes meeting above at a sharp edge, f. Below these slopes the sidesare carried down, so as to cover a belt running over the pulley J. G andH are two rubber or other elastic bushings or collars sustaining thehollow sleeve I, which forms the bearings of the spindle D. Thesebushings are for the purpose of rendering the bearings elastic, by

giving to the hollow sleeve I an elastic resist;

ance in all directions, so as to prevent any vibratory movement frombeing conununicated to the stationary parts of the machine, in casethere should be an unequally-balanced load in the basket. J is a pulleyattached to the spindle D, for the purpose of giving it a rapid rotarymotion. The belt which passes over this pulley runs under the arm F,which shields it from the sugar when it falls from the basket 0. K is acylinder attached to the lower end of the fixed conical'sleeve E, asshown in Fig. 2. It carries the stept', upon which the spindle rests,These bolts are for the purpose of adjusting the height of the spindle,and to compensate for any wear in its bearings. The spindle D rests inthe sleeve I in the bearings a b, which are of the ordinary constructionfor such purposes. These bearings are lubricated by putting oil into thehole d. It is thrown out of the transverse hole d, and runs down theinside of the sleeve I,

lubricating the bearings, and into the pulley' J, and thence through thegroove 0 into the cylinder K, where it lubricates the rest '5. From thiscylinder it is intended to allow it to flow out by the overflow-pipe g.L is a brake, for

the purpose of checking the motion of the machine whenit is desired tostop it. It acts upon a rim or flange, 1, upon the lower part of thebasket 0. The basket 0 is provided with openings in the bottom, of anyordinary construction, to discharge the sugar after the sirup is thrownout by centrifugal force. The valve 0, in the form of a section of asphere, is intended to shew one form of valve to cover the openin gs inthe bottom of the basket. The valve can be made to turn or to lift outof the machine. M is the floor or support of the machine. The operationof my invention is as follows: The basket is charged and emptied in theusual manner in such machines. The sirup passes out into the tub A, fromwhich it is drawn off by a suitable pipe. The sugar is dischargedthrough the openings in the bottom of the basket, and falls down throughthe space around the outside of the conical sleeve E to a properreceptacle. That which falls over the arm F strikes the inclined faces,and passes down without interfering with the operation of the belt overthe pulley J to drive the machine. WVhen the charge in the basket isunevenly balanced, which is more or less the case with every charge, thebasket is set in rapid vibration by the difference of centrifugal forceupon opposite sides of the axis. By means of the elastic bushings G andH the bearings of the spindle are allowed a slight movement laterally,so that the yielding of the rubber bushings permits the center'of motionto accommodate itself to the center of gravity, and prevents any jarfrom being communicated to the building.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A centrifugal machine, drivenfrom'below, in which the elastic bearings of the spindle are inclosed ina central sleeve, around which is an open space-for the contents of thebasket to be discharged to a receptacle below, substantially asspecified.

2. The hollow arm F, which sustains the central sleeve containing thespindle, and covers the belt from the pulley in such a manner as nottoimpede the descent of the material discharged from the basket,substantially as described.

3. The combination and arrangement of the standard B, the arm F, and theconical sleeve E, with a bottom discharging-basket in a contrifugalmachine driven from below, substantially as herein described.

SAMUEL S. HEPYVORTH.

Witnesses:

- PETER KEMBLE,

I. N. PAULDING.

